Trends are evolving these days and YouTube seems to be the solution to stardom after futile attempts to break into the media industry. Pop culture has been revitalized through a new medium- the internet. There is also a shifting focus, not on the beautiful and glamourous, but on the ordinary man. Girls next door, Erin Perey and Roxanne Ilano(otherwise known as Rin on the Rox on YouTube) found themselves basking in fame after publishing a video of themselves singing in the bathroom. The bathroom for good acoustics? No doubt to that.
I first stumbled upon this talented pair one night while I was at my usual habit of searching YouTube for good soundtracks, which led me to discovering the remarkable harmony of the singing duo and got hooked to their music after. Acoustics at its rawest is always appreciated. I cannot agree more.
Like artistes of pop and secular music, such YouTube celebrities participate in enriching the culture of the entertainment industry, and provide the audience with a wider range of choices. We welcome choices as they increase the interconnectivity between viewers and producers and helps achieve an equilibrium between enjoyment purposes and marketing strategies for the benefit of all. To tie in with what we learnt in lecture this week, this creates the analogy of an interactive model where the encoder(in this case the entertainment industry) and decoder(in this case the audience/viewers) actively participates in an exchange of ideas. Immediate feedback was given in the case of Rin on the Rox as a single sound clip can attract around 600 000 viewers a night! (cited from http://rinontherox.net/) This won them a breakthrough into the music industry with their album Torture due to be released in Spring 2009, and many opportunities to appear on television. The EllenDegeneres Show for example, was a platform to their stardom.
This is my personal favourite of all the songs they contributed on YouTube. A cover of Better In Time by Leona Lewis. Enjoy!
Think you have talent and have already exhausted all efforts to be in the limelight? Try YouTube, you could be a celebrity overnight!
Indeed, nothing represents the upsurge of talents and desires of our commonfolk more quintessentially than that of the media platform, Youtube. What is even more motivating of the prevalence of such media tools is that it brings to the fore the issue of how anybody who wants to be ANYBODY in our society now have the opportunity to do so without going out of their way to achieve their dreams. The immediacy of the impact felt overnight from simply uploading a video is even greater testimony to how widespread the use of Youtube has become. One can't help but wonder, is this phenomenon going to be what defines our 21st century generation?
ReplyDeleteI would agree in all means of communication, YouTube is an extensive network to reach out the public. Its a great interpreting media where we can view videos which fit the realities of our lives. I'm contextually aware the culture and time in which we live(more like a reflection), credits to YouTube! Anyway the interconnectivity between viewers and producers that this site fits might be considered competitive since its all about internet business!
ReplyDeleteTrue, the Internet is an accessible and ubiquitous medium to give the man-on-the-street his 10 seconds of fame, for better or for worse, depending on the views of the 'public', in this case, YouTube viewers. However, there are limitations to the reach that video sharing portals such as YouTube have since the latter imposes restrictions in the form of fees to be paid if one wants to have a wider viewership to their videos. Also, for every successful man-on-the-street turned high profile (or least prospective) artiste such as Rin on the Rox or Marie Digby, there are countless others who have fallen deeper into the virtual black hole of the unknown...
ReplyDeleteThis is very true and i really agree with you because almost everybody today has taken a look at Youtube before. Even my parents who are very blur with computers also visit the site believe it or not. I actually caught them like watching hokkien music videos or smth like that and they totally enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteBands like Boyce Avenue also rose to fame through Youtube, and they chose Youtube to put themselves up instead of going to underground music promo sites like http://www.purevolume.com
Purevolume is also an excellent channel for bands to be heard, but Youtube has surpassed the site because of the target audience for Youtube.
It involves almost anybody who has a computer and an internet connection, whereas sites like myspace music or purevolume would only be patronized by music enthusiasts(such as myself) or through various recommendations from peers.
Plus youtube is more appealing because you get to watch a video whilst listening to them instead of the usual embedded Flash Player on the other underground music promo sites.
The power of Youtube as a tool is virtually limitless and better still, it's a tool we can all use for free! All we need is a computer, a webcam/mic and an internet connection to "be seen and heard". All this is pretty affordable too and can be found almost anywhere. This is starting to sound like a Youtube advertisement. haha.
No doubt youtube has increasing become a platform for many to post videos of themselves in order to gain fame and popularity. However it can also be a platform where people post up trashy videos. Honestly, out of the thousands of videos that are posted in 1 day, how many of those are actually worth viewing? Some of the people can’t sing or have no talent but they are still equally popular and have a large number of page views. However the television (eg. Singing contests) may be a better media representative in a sense that it only features programs or shows that cater to the demands of viewers in order to gain viewership support.
ReplyDeleteSo the question is – should we depend on online sites to gain popularity and fame or not? Well I guess this is all dependent on personal preferences and choice. But for me I guess I’ll still stick to the good’ol trusty tv and leave youtube for the more updated and trendy people.
I do agree that Youtube can be the fast track to stardom for some people who are extremely talented or just plain lucky for getting something funny on video! You hear about stories of people getting "discovered" on Youtube and then getting signed by an agency or a celebrity who thinks they have found the "next big thing" but how often does that really happen?
ReplyDeleteA lot of singers who post their videos on Youtube sing cover versions of popular songs and this does not always translate to becoming a famous recording artist who in the end needs good original songs of their own. Hence, not many Youtube stars instantly become mainstream artists with songs on the air. Only a lucky few will strike that metaphorical lottery and even then, who knows how long they can sustain their fame?
That said, Youtube has definitely become somewhat an essential website for all internet users due to the fact that it has practically everything. From movies, to songs, to family videos, to tutorials, to talk shows and I could go on.. With the upload of one video, someone could become immediately famous to 15 people or 15 million people. It is the power of the internet that cannot be denied and will probably only continue to grow stronger. However, will this help talent scouts to discover more hidden talents? Or will it only dilute the talent pool into a mass of wannabes doing mindless things on video in the hopes of becoming famous because of it?
I agree with you that YouTube serves as a communication platform for our youths and even adults these days. With the large amount of videos being added each day, I cannot imagine what would happen if YouTube were to shut down one day. Will we still be able to live without it or do we find that we are too dependant on it? Also, there is the question of quality of videos as anyone can upload a video. These are just some questions to think about(:
ReplyDeleteI think Youtube is such a breakthrough as far as mass media goes. In the past, broadcasting was for the "specially privileged" few. People who were seen in the media became known as celebrities when they went on TV or radio or in print. Now, anyone can have their 5 minutes of fame.
ReplyDeleteSome interesting ones include the Star Wars kid, and the Numa Numa guy. It's fascinating to see how these two people became overnight "stars" from the power of a video site like Youtube.
@ Rebecca
ReplyDeleteThe global phenomenon of change is non static and Mass Media has definitely transcended the conventional means of communication, in this case evolved from solely distributing ideas through mediums like the television, press & radio to infiltrating the internet. YouTube is one small aspect of the internet that still managed to reach out to a quantity of the masses. Small, but largely effective.
Whether or not it defines the 21st century depends on how widespread the available of information YouTube provides, as compared to another visual medium eg, the television. In this case I think YouTube provides additional entertainment more often than not as it is less stringent with censorship compared to the TV. Therefore people still stick to the conventional television but gravitate to YouTube for shows/video clips that are prohibited to be shown on national television. It is in other words a supplement to our main source of entertainment rather than something that would take over the TV/define our current generation.
Thank you for your insightful crique of this entry becks!
Hey amadea!
ReplyDeleteyoutube is a global phenomenon, what started out as a random idea became an engine for media to be pushed into the masses at the speed of light.
however, do you think that youtube has become overkill material? many budding singers and songwriters are doing their own webcam versions of songs and their original writes. but how effective are these now that the novelty has worn out?
Myspace & Youtube were platforms for stars like Katy Perry & Colbie Collait, but how about the 2nd generation people like Esmee Deenters?
Flash in the pan, you think?
Regarding these 2 girls, i read somewhere that they work at a chinese resteraunt and were featured on the Ellen Show, but even after their broadcast, the highest performance they did were to sing at weddings.
But nonetheless, i enjoy any media article that has to do with fashion & music. see you tomorrow ams!
isaac chan zhi yang
http://pitstophere.wordpress.com
@ Dee
ReplyDeleteYes.i agree with you. It is precisely because YouTube has extensive coverage,it enables viewers to engage with the new media online. As you've also mentioned the internet to be of a new age competitive business,we can therefore see that there is intensive communication betweem viewers & producers, therefore enhancing the communication process. The intent of my entry is aimed at illustrating the massive linkage between communicators through a medium like this-a small component of the internet which largely affects the audience. Communication thus does not reside only through conventional means. YouTube can be impactful as well.
I appreciate the insightful critique dee! :>
Hi,
ReplyDeleteIf you got talent, feel free to use all provided media. One day you might just get your opportunity to sing or dance in front of live audience like you always wanted to just because you dared to record yourself and actually upload it.
We have seen plenty of people emerging from Myspace and Youtube, so it is kind of an open competition where anyone can take part in to the whole world.
Namka
http://lifestoolong.wordpress.com/
@ Daniel
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the probability of such occurrences are rare, however my entry illustrates nonetheless, the success of YouTube in creating talents with the liberty of posting just about anything on the internet. While there are restrictions imposed if people should want a larger viewership, censorship in this case is less stringent as we still find many videos/shows prohibited to be broadcasted on national TV available for viewing on YouTube. My entry is exemplary of effective communication from an alternative network source and not so much on whether a talent pool could be scouted from YouTube alone.
@ Pyrena
ReplyDeleteI believe 'freedom to' is often also 'freedom from'. YouTube in this case is liberal about the content(relative to eg, television networks) of its videos hence allows for 'trashy videos' to be broadcasted on the internet. Viewers therefore 'lose their freedom' to consume only images that are PG. This is crucial to a certain group of people- mainly children as they could be exposed to violence and sexual content which the media at best censors to protect their innocence.
However, people still gravitate to YouTube for its multifunctional purpose. Besides being free, YouTube is the only entertainment source that allows for watching TV serials continuously instead of waiting every week for each episode to air on television. Therefore it is no wonder that so many people gravitate to this entity.
I recognize the fact that the probability of gaining popularity through YouTube is low and perhaps the more reliable source to get noticed is through joining Singing Competitions(American Idol for example). However, my entry portrays an event of accidental fame that was sought after, rather than fame that was pursued by an individual. Nevertheless, thank you for your constructive comments!
@ Amanda & Isaac
ReplyDeleteI agree that with the lack of censorship, there is a possibility that the talent pool may be diluted, however it is also because of the freedom to broadcast almost anything online that encourages budding singers/songwriters to share their work. It gives room to the ordinary man and more importantly gives every individual who thinks they've got talent their one-minute of fame. This is a unique quality of YouTube as being in the limelight does not restrict itself to only the glamourous. Fame is thus made accessible to the masses and also allows for the best among them to be sieved out to contribute to enriching the entertainment culture. After all, the media is all about a diversity of cultures, backgrounds, talents etc. That is what makes it so interesting in the first place. Overkill or not, it still benefits both viewers and aspiring artistes alike.
I believe it takes time for an artiste to be fully recognized by the public and to carve a career in the entertainment industry. Rin on the Rox have gained publicity by appearing at the Emmy Awards, The Ellen Degeneres Show and even got to cut their own album. For people who were mere YouTube singers, is this not already a good enough achievement? Unique talent is rare, and for 2 pan asian girls residing in California whose voices can blend so well with each other, would be interesting to watch. In the long run, Rin on the Rox could be our next big thing!
I appreciate the constructive critque of my entry! :>
@ Valerie
ReplyDeleteYou know the common rhetoric that 'YouTube is the new TV' is constantly being said these days? Well I have to agree that to a certain extent it is true. I personally cannot live without YouTube too, as it is a medium of alternative sources for entertainment. It is a quick and convenient approach to watch almost everything, from TV serials, stand up comedies to music performances by real people. I believe there are also many other people like myself who depend on YouTube for such purposes, hence it would be a hassle if YouTube were to shut down one day. That would mean no more access to additional media, some of which that are more highly sought after by youths these days(eg certain TV shows that are prohibited by national TV because of its excessive violence/non educational aspect). However, as long as YouTube is still a popular site among consumers, its business would be long running. Given the current situation where some people argue that YouTube can replace the television, such an occurrence would be non existent. Thankfully, for the convenience and variety YouTube brings to the table. :>
@ Jeremiah, Terence and Namka
ReplyDeleteThank you for your analysis of my entry. I too agree that YouTube is testimony to the extensive communication network of the 21st century and it has greatly influenced the masses, knocked down several walls of restrain to certain media productions and serves as an avenue for a broader talent scout. YouTube has brought about much convenience and freedom for people to articulate their views (ie,the recent PINK DOT campaign in SIngapore). This freedom is greatly appreciated with the millions of people contributing to YouTube each day. Yes, and talent should never be glossed upon as this community thrives on a variation of talent for entertainment benefits. Without new and upcoming talents, the media would be stagnant, the same old faces repeatedly appearing in the press. This would definitely not cater to our ever changes tastes and preferences. Communication stimulates new ideas to better enhance the vibrancy of the media in this new age and we should never stifle any opportunity to exercise our creativity!
They rock!
ReplyDeleteNowadays, people are turning to the youtube to showcase their talent, hoping to make it big one day. Some people, like Marie Digby, has become famous cause of this.
Youtube has begin to be another way of communication between people and a good platform for budding singers who hope to make it big in the industry.
And seriously, for 2 unknown people to become famous through youtube, its a tough feat to achieve! (;
However, most of the people who post their singing videos on youtube, it has always been a cover version of someone's song. Not much orginality there. I feel, if wrote their own song, sang it and post their video on youtube, I'll definately be very interested in watching. Afterall, everyone is striving for orginality now. (;
Hi, I agree with your last point, however it takes real talent to compose their own music as well as to gain support from the masses. People largely gravitate to mainstream music, ie covers of established pop singers as they can familiarize themselves with the music. In my opinion i think singing a cover from a pop song and doing it well would first gain the attention of the audience. Budding artistes who are manage to break into the music industry can then gain more popularity by writing their own music. For the case of Rin on the Rox, they have an amazing ability to harmonize, which is what drew so many people to watch them on YouTube in the first place. However, thank you for your comments, it is greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeletethe Internet is definitely taking over the traditional media's means of advertising and educating. the time a person spends more on the computer is times more than that on the television. Besides accessibility to any information at the touch of your fingertips, or should I say click. Moreover, it provides a platform for opinion and reviews. That aside, looking on the Internet itself, the traffic flow for multi networking sites such as youtube, Facebook and twitter, are even greater. The number of visits and numbers of uploads transcends those of news sites. Such sites have also evolved to be the means to advertising and for propaganda, no wonder they can be so popular so quickly! They initially begun as sites for peer to peer interaction, however they are now utilized as mediums for media. Which is also why communists states such as China has banned all these sites. The Internet not only provides the communication restricted to an interactive platform, it is now "upgraded" to a transactional exchange via webcams! the wonders of the Internet, who would have known it has transcended so greatly in such a small amount of time. And now with the inventions of smartphones, the use of such multi media technology will be even more prevalent
ReplyDeleteIndeed, new media platforms like Youtube have taken the world by storm. Such sites have made our world so much smaller in the sense that one can reach out to nearly anyone at the other far end of the world with just a click of a button. Who, in the past, would have envisaged such a interconnected world that we have today? Yes, Youtube has provided a free, convenient and immensely easily accessible avenue for people all over the world to voice out their opinions, show their talent (as in Rin on the Rox), share news clips and current affairs, or even conduct online classes on an amazing variety of things. Just take a look at the panel of categories on Youtube, ranging from entertainment, education, science and technology, news and politics, and the list goes on. People can easily go to Youtube for their daily dose of celebrity news or for a quick scoop on pertinent political issues that are taking place all around us. The power of the mass media. Rather overwhelming and much, MUCH talked about.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you on the point regarding interactivity between the encoders and decoders. The feedback on what is posted by the encoders is nearly immediate and this presents an enormous scope for exchanges between the two parties. Needless to say, this comes once again in the form of a double-edged sword. There can be positive feedback, helping the encoders to improve their position in terms of reaching out to mass audiences (for that is the purpose of seeking the help of mass media platforms like Youtube), and there can also be negative feedback, sometimes even painful backlash. A case in point would be recent news clips posted on Youtube about American cheerleader Desiree Jennings, who came down with a rare neurological disorder after receiving a common flu jab. The unusual disorder that even doctors were unable to fully explain, leaves her unable to walk or talk properly. Some netizens even posted insensitve comments that she should not have gone to take the flu jab in the first place (but how was she to have known?). Although she wasn't the encoder, this example shows that sometimes the ease at which one can take part in this "exchange of ideas", comforted by the fact that one's identity is kept masked by the veil of the internet, may not always be healthy.
Nevertheless, I do agree with you that such new media platforms are indeed quick tickets to stardom if used in the appropriate measure, such as how Erin Perey and Roxanne Ilano did! =) They really have good vocals and their efforts at the new media haven't come to nought, judging by the recording deal they are about to take on. Thank you for your insightful critique on the use of new media platforms like Youtube! =)
Hi Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteYes the invention of smartphones have certainly made it possible to access the internet with greater ease, much less post videos of oneself online. There are therefore many ways to showcase talent with the numerous multimedia aids that help in the transaction between the masses and the internet.
Hi Anthea, thank you for the very insightful critique of my entry.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Internet is a double edged sword for many. On one hand it helps transmit information through its extensive network coverage, increase hits of a talent profile(in this case rinontherox) such that they become known worldwide, and serve as a platform for communication. The threats of such extensive network systems is evident in the Desiree Jennings case you mentioned above, where she unknowingly became a source for debate regarding her health. Such personal issues are disclosed and on many cases amplified through the internet on a daily basis and is considered unhealthy due to the failure to distinguish a distinct private and public space.
By and large, with regards to fame, the internet opens up possibilities to escalate to stardom in a quick and fuss free method, instead of going through gruelling competitions like American Idol where fame becomes commercialized and possibly even overrated.
you tube.. delivers good talents..
ReplyDelete